Unwell bus driver rushed to hospital

Andrew Nowell

A bus driver was taken to hospital after becoming seriously ill at the wheel.

A sharp-eyed member of the public noticed the vehicle being driven erratically in Leigh and pulled it over at around 4pm on Saturday.

The Arriva bus came to a halt close to Leigh fire station on St Helens Road and the driver complained of feeling dizzy.

Firefighters at the station rushed to his aid and provided treatment until paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service arrived.

The driver was then taken to hospital.

The two passengers on the bus were completely unhurt and simply got off before walking to the next stop to continue their journeys.

Crew manager at Leigh fire station Mark Anderson said: “We were alerted that the bus driver had become unwell. We are unsure what precisely was wrong with him but he was obviously unable to drive.

“We administered oxygen therapy and checked his levels and the rapid response vehicle was here very quickly. The paramedics checked him out and then the ambulance took him to hospital when it arrived a few minutes later.

“There were two young men on the bus but they were fine. He hasn’t crashed and there was no harm done, it was just a freak occurrence”